ShareThisThose from Detroit aren't going to like this and I'm sure my e-mail box will be full of angry letters, but some of the Red Wings (and one in particular) are coming off like a bunch of whiners over this whole Sidney Crosby-handshake thing.
We were led to believe Detroit captain Nick Lidstrom was offended that Crosby spent too much time celebrating and didn't get to the handshake line fast enough after Pittsburgh's victory last Friday in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final. By all estimations, it took Crosby a little more than three minutes, including being interrupted by the media, following the final buzzer to line up for the handshake, and that was way too long for Lidstrom, so he left the ice.
But it wasn't too long for most Red Wings to wait and shake Crosby's hand. If Johan Franzen, goalie Chris Osgood and coach Mike Babcock, among others, could wait to shake Crosby's hand, why couldn't Lidstrom? Hey, if Lidstrom didn't feel like waiting around, that's his business.
What pushed this mess over the edge was a complaint from the Red Wings locker room after the game. Not from Lidstrom, but from Red Wings forward Kris Draper, who said, "Nick was waiting and waiting, and Crosby didn't come over to shake his hand. That's ridiculous, especially as their captain, and make sure you write that I said that."
I'm sorry, but Draper was so invisible in the final that I forgot he even played until I read the quote. Anyway, if I were Lidstrom, I would be ticked at Draper. In fact, Lidstrom downplayed the whole thing earlier this week.
Those who know Crosby know that, despite being only 21 years old, he has assumed the role as ambassador of the league and clearly has shown nothing but respect for the game and its traditions. He showed nothing but humility after the game, even going as far as to sort-of defend Lidstrom for not sticking around for the handshake if Lidstrom didn't feel like it.
Lidstrom doesn't need Draper (or Henrik Zetterberg, who weighed in Monday, calling Crosby's actions "disrespectful") bellyaching about a player who certainly meant no disrespect. Draper not only made himself look like a poor sport, but made Lidstrom and the rest of his teammates look like one, too.
Elsewhere, the NHL is basking in the afterglow of an exciting Stanley Cup final that produced the best TV ratings in years. And now comes all the talk of how this will be a turning point for the NHL, how new fans have been attracted and how the NHL is headed for an upswing in popularity.
Haven't we heard this before?
Didn't we hear this when Wayne Gretzky's Oilers started to go on a dynasty tear in the early 1980s? Didn't we hear this when Mario Lemieux came into the league in the mid '80s? Did we hear this when the Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994, which was supposed to start another hockey renaissance?
But the NHL always does something -- bad TV deals, work stoppages -- to shoot itself in the foot.
And let's not automatically assume the Red Wings and Penguins, the two marquee teams in the league at the moment, are destined to win more championships. Don't you realize how hard it is to reach the Stanley Cup final?
Think of this, when the Tampa Bay Lightning won the 2004 Cup with a team full of young stars such as Vinny Lecavalier, Marty St. Louis, Brad Richards, Dan Boyle, Ruslan Fedotenko and so on, didn't you think it would win one or two more before it was all over?
Funny how things never work out like you think they might in the NHL.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service www.scrippsnews.com)
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Not quite
First of all, I think it's pretty silly to compare the Red Wings or the Penguins to the Tampa Bay Lightning, especially the Red Wings. I would just like to point out that unlike Tampa's Cinderella run during 2004, Detroit has been competitive for the title every single year for over a decade. Sometimes they fall short, sometimes they win the entire thing, but they are ALWAYS competitive. This is because the front office in Detroit is second to none, that's why they are continuously able to draft, trade for, sign and re-sign players at deals that other teams cannot match. Regardless of the cap or no cap system, the Red Wings will put a competitive team out there every single year. Three of Red Wing rookies combined for 9 goals in the post-season, rookies. Some of the Red Wing players like Draper, Maltby will soon be approaching retirement while the bulk of the Red Wings squad is much younger with the main stars like Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen, Cleary all around their late 20's. Future stars like Helm, Ericcson, and most likely Leino will all be a part of the team in the future. That's not a recipe for a team that will not be back in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Secondly, you can't blame certain Red Wing players for voicing their opinion if they feel that their captain was disrespected. Was Lidstrom disrespected? That's up for personal opinion on a debate forum and everyone is entitled to their opinion on the issue.
Instead of criticizing veteran NHL players who have been around the league longer than most for their opinions on tradition, why don't you do some comparative research on how long it takes teams to fully shake hands. That way you can form a case for or against the comments made by Draper and Zetterberg. If hand-shakes are completed within a certain time and they were significantly off the what Crosby did this year than Draper has a point, if every year the Captains stick to a certain time before they shake hands and Crosby went way above that, Draper has a point. Do some research because I don't see any evidence that puts Draper's opinion on what SHOULD BE done an malformed opinion.